J Korean Soc Endocrinol.  1994 Mar;9(1):10-17.

Changes in Bone Mineral Density in Patients with Sheehan's Syndrome

• Yoo JM
• Kim SJ
• Choi KM
• Baik SH
• Choi DS
• Lee EJ
• Kim YH

Abstract

Osteoporosis is a common clinical problem with high risk of fractures in old age, especially postmenopausal women.Secondary causes of osteoporosis can be identified in 20% of women and 40% of men with vertebral fractures. One of the causes of secondary osteoporosis is endocrine disease such as hypogonadism, ovarian agenesis, hyperadrenocorticism, hyperthyroidism, hyperparathyroidism and diabetes mellitus. Patients with Sheehan's syndrome have deficiency of multiple hormones which may cause bone loss.To determine changes in the bone mineral density in women with Sheehan's syndrome and to compare clinical and biochemical characteristics between the patients with osteoporosis and the patients without osteoporosis, we measured the bone mineral density(BMD) of the lumber spine and midradius by dual energy X-ray absortiometry(DEXA) and the serum levels of estrogen and osteocalcin in 11 patients of Sheehan's syndrome.The results were as follows;1) The BMDs of the lumbar spine were significantly decreased in patients with Sheehan's syndrome when compared with those of age-matched control.2) The prevalence of osteoporosis in patients with Sheehan's syndromes was 55%. Between the patients with osteoporosis and the patients without osteoporosis, there were no difference in the onset age of amenorrhea, the duration of amenorrhea, and the serum levels of osteocalcin and alkaline phosphatase.3) Serum estradiol levels were decreased uniformly in the patients with Sheehan's syndrome except three patients with estrogen replacement, but the concentration of estradiol was not correlated with the degree of the decrease in bone mass.In conclusion, the patients with Sheehan's syndrome have an increased prevalence of osteoporosis. But the effect of each anterior pituitary hormone deficiency on bone loss should be clarified in the futher prospective study.

MeSH Terms

Adrenocortical Hyperfunction
Age of Onset
Amenorrhea
Bone Density*
Diabetes Mellitus
Endocrine System Diseases
Estradiol
Estrogen Replacement Therapy
Estrogens
Female
Humans
Hyperparathyroidism
Hyperthyroidism
Hypogonadism
Hypopituitarism*
Male
Miners
Osteocalcin
Osteoporosis
Prevalence
Prospective Studies
Spine
Estradiol
Estrogens
Osteocalcin